© Mark Ollig
Telephone, as a word, has its origins in ancient Greece, from “tele,” meaning “far off,” and phone, meaning “sound” or “voice.”
Antonio Meucci was born in 1808 near Florence, Italy, and studied mechanical and industrial engineering at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1850, Antonio and his wife, Esterre, lived in Staten Island, NY.
He operated a tallow candle factory while experimenting with electromagnetism and developing devices for transmitting sound waves over wires.
By 1857, Meucci had installed a communication system in his home using a “talking telegraph” he called the telettrofono (telephone) in his basement laboratory wired to another in a third-floor bedroom.
He used this system to communicate with his wife, as she spent most of her time there due to illness.
Meucci used Daniell electrochemical batteries (invented by John Frederic Daniell, a British chemist, in 1836) with copper and zinc electrodes immersed in copper sulfate and zinc sulfate solutions to supply audio power for the copper wire conductor insulated with cotton.
“It [telettrofono] consists of a vibrating diaphragm and a magnet electrified by a spiral wire that wraps around it. By vibrating, the diaphragm alters the current of the magnet. These current alterations, transmitted to the other end of the wire, impart similar vibrations to the receiving diaphragm and reproduce the word,” Meucci wrote.
Meucci improved the device by adding a copper disc to the mouthpiece and experimenting with different diaphragms and electromagnets.
He published an article related to his work in the New York-based newspaper “Progresso Italo-Americano.”
On July 30, 1871, Meucci was severely burned in an explosion while traveling on a ferry boat and was bedridden for several months during his recovery.
Meucci’s wife, Esterre, struggled to pay his medical expenses, and she was forced to sell most of his telettrofono invention technical designs and models to cover their bills, which Meucci later learned had been sold to others.
During Meucci’s recovery, his friend and banker Angelo Bertolino found four partners to help promote his telettrofono invention: Angelo Tremeschin, a lithographer; Angelo Z. Grandi, a musician; Sereno G. P. Breguglia, a notary public, and G. B. Lusignani, a merchant.
On Dec. 12, 1871, the Telettrofono Company was established.
The company was a beacon of hope for Meucci. He saw it as a chance to showcase his telettrofono to the world.
Meucci and his new partners brought the telettrofono to prominent New York patent lawyer Thomas Spenser Stetson.
The cost of a full patent application was $250 ($6,292 today), which the partners considered too expensive, so Stetson advised them to file a patent caveat for $20 ($503 today), which could be quickly completed.
On Dec. 28, 1871, Antonio Meucci filed a caveat application No. 3335 for his telephone invention with the US Patent Office.
“The Sound Telegraph” was the title of the caveat application, which included an attached cutaway drawing of the receiver and the transmitter of a prototype telettrofono.
Parts of Meucci’s caveat contained the following:
“Fourth – The same in combination with provisions for electrically insulating the sending and receiving parties.”
“Fifth – The mouth piece or speaking utensil in combination with an electrically insulating conductor.”
“Sixth – The ear utensils or receiving vessels adapted to apply upon the ears in combination with an electrically insulating sound conductor.”
“Seventh – The entire system comprising the electrical and sound conductor insulated and furnished with a mouth piece and ear pieces at each end adapted to serve as specified.”
An inventor could file a patent caveat with the United States Patent and Trademark Office stating their intentions to file a full patent application.
A caveat could be renewed; however, by 1910, the US Congress had nullified the patent caveat system.
As 1872 began, the financial support of the Telettrofono Company began to fall apart.
Angelo Z. Grandi sold his shares to Breguglia, who passed away a few months afterward, and Tremeschin left the US and moved back to Italy.
Before Breguglia died, he arranged a meeting between Antonio Meucci and Edward B. Grant, the vice president of the American District Telegraph Company of New York, requesting to test the telettrofono on their telegraph lines.
Grant told Meucci that before any tests could be approved, he needed a copy of the patent caveat, drawings, and a description of the prototype invention.
Meucci provided the items to the American District Telegraph Company and was told to return later.
After repeated attempts by Meucci to learn the testing results, he was told Grant could not get permission for testing, and the prototype documentation and the copy of his caveat were lost or misplaced.
Meucci had limited options, and he renewed his patent caveat in December 1872 and again in December 1873.
On Dec. 28, 1874, Meucci’s legal protections ended when he couldn’t afford to renew his patent caveat.
On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted US Patent No. 174,465, which he described as “The method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically.”
Antonio Meucci’s story continues next week.
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Cutaway drawing of the receiver and the transmitter from the telettrofono attached to caveat application No. 3335 by Antonio Meucci filed with the US Patent Office on Dec. 28, 1871.[Rights to publish this image paid] |
